1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to sterilizers and in particular to double sheel sterilizer vessels of the type wherein a sterilizer cart is moved into the sterilizing chamber of the inner shell.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Double shell sterilizing vessels having spaced-apart inner and outer shells are well known in the art and are mounted in one of two ways. The preferred way of mounting is to provide a pit (i.e. pit mounting) in the floor of a building when it is being built so that the sterilizing chamber floor of the inner vessel is on the same level as the external floor (that is, the building floor). When the sterilizer vessel is to be located in an existing building having floors in which, for example, a 12 inch pit cannot be provided, the vessel must be placed directly on top of the floor (i.e. floor mounting) and an expensive hydraulic lift must be placed adjacent the door into the sterilizing chamber for raising sterilizing carts having the goods to be sterilized to the level of the sterilizing chamber floor before the mobile sterilizing cart can be rolled into the chamber.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a double shell sterilizer that overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of prior art double shell sterilizers. It is another object of the present invention to provide a double shell sterilizer vessel having an eccentric relationship between the inner and outer shells of the sterilizer with the bottom walls of the inner and outer shells being in contact, whereby the eccentric double sterilizer vessel of the present invention can be floor-mounted and used with a small ramp without the need for a hydraulic lift, and can alternatively be pit-mounted in existing building structures which can not accommodate pit-mounting of previously known double shell sterilizer vessels. The double sheel vessel of the present invention requires a pit of much less depth (for example 6 inches) than did prior art double shell vessels.